In this reading journal I will post the contents of and my thoughts on any books I read, regardless of whether or not I liked it or even finished it.

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

THE HAND THAT FIRST HELD MINE

TITLE: THE HAND THAT FIRST HELD MINE

AUTHOR: MAGGIE O’FARRELL

Pages: 374

Date: 27/02/2013

Grade: 3.5

Details: Reading Group book for

Dialogues Through
Literature

Library

From the back of the book:

“Fresh out of university
and in disgrace, Lexie Sinclair is waiting for life to begin. When the
sophisticated Innes Kent
turns up on her doorstep in rural Devon, she realises she can wait no longer,
and leaves for London.
There, Lexie carves out a new life for herself at the heart of bohemian 1950’s Soho, with Innes by her side.

In the present, Ted and
Elina no longer recognize their lives after the arrival of their first child.
Elina, an artist, wonders if she will ever paint again, while Ted is disturbed
by memories of his own childhood – memories that don’t tally with his parents’
version of events.

As Ted’s search for answers
gathers momentum, so a portrait is revealed of two women separated by fifty
years, but linked by their passionate refusal to settle for ordinary lives.”

What to say about this book? I was a bit disappointed by it. The blurb
seemed to promise more than the book actually delivered. Yes it is a story set
at two different times (the 1950’s and the present) and yes they are connected,
but not in the way the blurb suggests. I didn’t see a lot of similarities
between Elina and Lexie other than that they live their lives according to
their own agenda. As for the connection between the two stories, I had that
figured out long before the details were revealed in the story, which took some
of the intended tension away.

I find myself getting increasingly annoyed with the blurbs that come
with books. I realize that they are meant to make a book sound as enticing as
possible in a limited amount of words, but is that really an excuse for suggesting
story-lines that aren’t really there? In this case it is Ted’s search which is
mentioned in the blurb but doesn’t really take place in the story. While Ted is
aware that some things aren’t quite right with his memories, he isn’t actively
looking for answers. And when he does stumble across the reason for his doubts
it is by accident, and not the result of his “search”.

I did appreciate the realistic picture of motherhood this book gave.
While there is no doubt that both Elina and Lexie love their sons with all
their hearts, the story does show the insecurities, frustrations and
complications that accompany motherhood. Having said that, Elina’s part of the
story seemed to be about little else except the way in which she was adjusting
to her new status, and that got a bit boring after a while. And I have a
problem believing that it would have been easier for Lexie to adjust to
motherhood, in her circumstances and during the 1960’s, than it was for Elina
in the present.

Well written and easy to read I still found that the story in this book
didn’t completely captivate me. I enjoyed reading it but wasn’t really
interested in the characters or what was happening to them. It felt as if I was
observing the story as it unfolded as through a mist, as if there was a barrier
between me and it. This was especially true for the contemporary part of the
story. I completely failed to connect with Ted and Elina. Lexie’s story was far
more interesting, probably because her story covers a much longer period and
had a lot more happening in it.

This is by no means a bad book and I’m sure there will be lots of
readers for whom this book works perfectly well. It just wasn’t the book for me
at this time. And considering that this book won the Costa Award, I’m perfectly
willing to accept that this is the result of either my taste or my mood rather
than the qualities of this book.

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About Me

My name is Marleen. I'm Dutch but have been living in Ireland for well over 15 years now. I have a passion and love for reading and books. Since early 2008 I have been lucky enough to have been working part time in the library in Bailieborough, Co. Cavan where among other things I run the library reading group.
I will read almost anything that has words in it, and post my thoughts on everything I read in this blog:

Review Disclaimer

In this blog I write my thoughts on every book I read. Some I will have brought home from the library, some will have been bought while others will have been sent to me for review. I do not get paid for reading and reviewing any books and all opinions are mine and mine alone. Whether a book was borrowed, bought or received will be indicated at the top of every review.

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